Ken Maynard was one of the greatest cowboy stars ever to ride across the silver screen.  An incredible trick rider, he specialized in dangerous stunts on horseback and had them filmed in close-ups to show his fans that he was the genuine article.

     But Maynard had a problem.  His on screen personality was at odds with his real one.  When drinking, he turned mean, sometimes violent.  Crew members were afraid of him.  Producer Nat Levine tolerated the bad behavior to complete two projects---"Mystery Mountain" and "In Old Santa Fe," then said goodbye to Maynard.  A young extra named Gene Autry replaced Maynard as star of "The Phantom Empire."  Five years later, Autry was named the most popular movie star in the world.

     Autry went to great lengths to provide kids with a hero they could admire, but he wasn't happy working for Republic Pictures.  A clause in his contract entitled the studio to much of his earnings from radio, rodeos, and endorsements.  And there was the matter of block buying: You wanted to show an Autry western in your theatre, you had to agree to show other Republic westerns.  Studio boss Herb Yates wasn't a man willing to debate his decisions with actors whose paychecks he signed, so Gene walked.  Yates replaced him then with a young singer he renamed Roy Rogers.

     After a stint in the Army Air Corps, Gene returned to butt heads some more with Yates, then formed his own production company at Columbia Pictures.  Good scripts kept him there until the very end of B-westerns and then he made a jump to TV.

     Gene Autry made 91 musical westerns, sold 40 million records, and was the first major star to exploit the potential of TV.

      In every way, he exceeded fans' expectations.  When a radio station he owned lost the right to air Dodger baseball games, he flew to meetings hoping to sign one of the American League's expansion teams.  Wouldn't you know it?  He returned as a team owner.  Here was an opportunity to do great things for another generation of kids.

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